User blog:Tadano Hitoshi/Ragtag Hustle Kancolle Edition - Every Hustle 7: A New Year for New Beginnings
(Wow, I'm slowing down quite considerably.) 'The Naval Base's New Year' The start of a new year. It is a holiday universally observed by every nation in the world. However for every nation they have their own customs on celebrating it. Though, there are also universally known reasons why one would not celebrate it. Or rather, they would have joined in the celebrations - if they were not down with sickness on the day itself, that is. Such an example would be this man. A man who observes his duty as an "Admiral" in a certain "naval base" governing his "shipgirls", is sitting on his bed, having a phone call. And there is a panicked scream from the other side of the call. Phone call: "ADMIRAL!? ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" Admiral: "Yes...*sniff* gah. Sorry if I sounded weird. My nose is getting all stuffy and drippy, and I'm feeling rather groggy. It's also rather hard to breathe in this state. I don't think I can make it to the naval base for our New Year outing today, sorry... Yes, yes. I'll have my rest. ... Just don't let anyone disturb my workspace, thanks. Just proceed with the usual patrols... and yes, please switch our expedition routines with the appropriate routes, we're running low on bauxite and steel... *sniff, wheeze* Yes, yes. That was my error. If there isn't anything else to ask, then I'll hang up. Good day and do your best for today's missions as well. ... Wait, today is a holiday, I forgot about it. I'm sorry... please tell everyone to take their time off accordingly." And so he ends the call. Admiral: (Great. Just when I promised to be there for the New Year celebrations. Not only was I absent when the clock struck midnight for outstation ops, right after that I just had to be down with a cold. This is pretty embarrassing. ... Come to think of it, there has been a lot going on in the base as of late, shenaningans aside...) All of a sudden, the doorbells ring. Admiral: (A visitor? Gah, I don't really feel like receiving them... let's see who's at the door anyway... oh?) -- 'At the Naval Base' The Admiral's office, Ooyodo and the rest of the shipgirls after learning of Admiral's absence. Ooyodo: "... And there you have it..." Needless to say, the shipgirls are not very happy the Admiral isn't in. Yuudachi: "I was planning to have him play hanetsuki with us-''poi''..." Shigure: "Too bad..." Haruna: (looking very dejected) "Haruna... accepting orders to standby..." Akagi: "And this is the first New Year he should be celebrating with us..." Kaga: "It's quite unfortunate he had to be ill on such a day like this." Maya: "The hell? It's New Years and guy's got the gall to fall sick. Oh well, he better rest up." Kiso: "Well, what do you expect with him anyways. He even forgot today's a holiday in his sickness." Sendai: "Tch... I was just planning for a himehajime (姫始め). Both kinds, of course." Kashima: (leering at Sendai) "... What do you mean by both kinds...?" Ooyodo: "This is quite unfortunate... we'll have to proceed for our first temple visit of the year (hatsumoude, 初詣) without him." Mutsu: (pouting a bit before realizing something) "Hmph... come to think of it, though, do we know where he lives off the naval base?" (beat) Ooyodo: "Uh..." Ooyodo's cryptic response catches the attention of everyone present in the room. Ooyodo: "W-why is everyone looking at me? You don't suppose I knew where he is right now, do you...?" Kiso: "... Well, why not. After all, Ooyodo, even before I got assigned to this naval base, you're the one who led him the way here after fetching him at the airport, right?" Ooyodo: "That doesn't mean I knew about the details of his lodging though!" Kiso: "But as part of the base management surely you'd be privy to such information, wouldn't you...? Surely his address is there in your database." Ooyodo: (looking away) "T-that's classified information. I'm not supposed to be looking at it for personal purposes." Akagi: "... You don't suppose we can't make this into a 'visiting a sick personnel' trip, do you? There are rules that lets us do that, if I'm not mistaken?" Ooyodo: "To think I have to hear you of all people saying this, Akagi-san..." Akagi: "But of course. He is our Admiral after all." Kaga: "Akagi-''san'' is right. As he is our admiral, it is just right that we show concern for the person. He's the pillar of our morale after all." Ooyodo: "Kaga-''san'', you too...?" Mutsu: "You see, this Onee-san doesn't like it if she can't at least know how her Admiral is doing." (winks) Haruna: "I want to see how Admiral is doing! I'm curious!" All of a sudden, the door to the office slams open. There are several shipgirls behind it and they all stumble down into the room, but some shipgirls stand in front of the rest. While being the loudest. Ashigara: "The Admiral is down with flu!? What about the shrine visit!?" Kongou: "Sick, you say? Well then, it's time for a visit-''NE!'' At times like this having COMPANY is also important''-DESS''!" The office was soon engulfed in an uproar regarding the Admiral's absence. Kiso: "... And there you have it. We sure have a number of people over here wanting to know how he is doing, though." Ooyodo: (exasperatedly) "Uuugghhh... to be facing such coercion from not just one, but several capital ships... but still, this is way too many people... all right, all right. I give. Just please give me a break... and a moment to plan the trip..." -- 'Intermission: Regarding the Visiting Party' Ooyodo: (In the end, the visiting party now consists of... Kashima-san, Kiso-san, Nagato-san, Yamato-san, Graf Zeppelin, Fubuki, and Choukai-san of all people to be... To be honest, I'd like to go too but someone needs to keep the... um, nutcases around here in check. Also these people selected to go there were by far the best people I can pick... in terms of sensibility. Considering Admiral's current condition, I don't think I can send the... um, more loony ones over because I know how that will end up. It'll be a brawlfest of "Who can take care of the Admiral better" if I had to describe it. The last thing I want to know from the Admiral is him giving me an angry call over it and having his sick leave extended thanks to shenaningans. Kiso-san might be part of the 4 Devas... or rather, the 8 Maidens [ as in the 8 maidens to be sacrificed to the Yamata-no-Orochi ], but she's by far the most sensible of them therefore she's an exception. Kashima-san is acting as the second-in-command to my post and is a good helper, so she leads the visit. I was thinking whether I should let Nagato-san go but thankfully she isn't too much of the wacky Nagamon other Admirals have to deal with, so she gets a place. Yamato-san... well, she's the only one who requested to be included in the group that I can allow, she is reserved enough to qualify. Graf Zeppelin... despite being the foreigner in the group, she gets to go because unfortunately, she's the most sensible one for the fleet carriers... Akagi-san and Kaga-san... unfortunately they're on the "The Dust (read: shame) of the First Carrier Division" (一航戦の埃) spectrum of their personality plus they're part of the 8 Maidens so... yes. I have no particular reason to pick Fubuki over the other destroyers and the Admiral doesn't seem to mind her at all either but she's a hardworking one, I'll let her go as credit. Choukai-san is by far the most sensible heavy cruiser closest to the Admiral, even moreso than Ashigara-san. Of course, no telling why I don't include Ashigara-san here. I need Myoukou-san here, and Haguro-san doesn't seem she'd be able to handle the pressure... yet. Her communication with the Admiral has considerably improved after her Kai 2, but she needs more time. Atago-san and Takao-san? No thanks, I'm pretty sure the Admiral will have even more headaches with them... all thanks to the former. Maya-san is not unlike her two elder sisters too, and she's pretty uncouth as far as mannerisms go. I just don't want her turning the visit into an awkward mayhem where she tries to see if the Admiral owns some... questionable reading materials. Well, I guess this takes care of it...) -- 'Admiral's House' The visiting party arrives at the Admiral's residence, which is located at a hill behind the naval base. Kashima: "And here we are... Ladies, I present to you the Admiral's off-base residence. ... Whew, that was quite the hike..." (panting) Nagato: "Well, this kind of distance doesn't seem to be too far away from the base... if we look at a straight distance towards the base from here anyway. The long-winded route here tells for a different story, though." Yamato: "This location also seem to be well-covered from air surveillance, despite being on a hill... theoretically, it would be very easy to spot a cottage like this uphill, but surveillance from my aircraft and... Graf-''san's'' planes doesn't seem to track it. Or rather it was rather hard to track." Graf Zeppelin: "Apologies... this landscape is rather alien to me. Still, this makes this place a rather excellent one to set up point defense weapons such as the Flaks. As expected for a hiding place to protect the Admiral." Fubuki: "... Umm... I don't know whether I should try to add to that... I think it's a compliment but there are some things I'm just wondering... oh well." Choukai: "Just put it to rest, Fubuki-''chan''. At any rate we could do our admiring of the... scenery later. Kashima-''san'', if you will." Kashima: "Yes." (presses the door bell and the intercom) "Admiral? It's Kashima. I am here as part of the visiting party, we're here to check on you." Moments after that a voice responds via the intercom. But the voice... "Ah, so it's you shipgirls. Come on in." ... is not of the Admiral's. The girls paused for a bit. (It's not the Admiral? Sounds like another man, but who...?) Nagato: "... Just wondering, Kashima... does anyone other than you and Ooyodo knew where this place is in?" Kashima: "I doubt it... Ooyodo-''san'' only disclosed the location to me after assigning me to lead the way... then again Ooyodo-''san'' seems to be open with this information only to a select few including us... maybe there's some personnel outside the naval base that knew?" Graf Zeppelin: "Somehow I'm getting suspicious... nevertheless. Since we were already given the signal to go in, we might as well see who is it in the Admiral's company." Fubuki: (nervous) "Um, err..." (looks at Yamato in hopes for some pointers) "... Yamato-''san''...?" Yamato: "I'll agree with Graf, at the very least we'll want to know the Admiral is safe and well." Choukai: "Just talking a lot outside won't do us much... let's go in." They open the door to discover another pair of shoes, likely belonging to the visitor who came before them. They then head for the Admiral's sleeping quarters inside. As they approach the room, they hear sounds of a conversation between two people... [ So they're your charges, huh? That's a lot to handle. I'm not a fan of doing the job myself, you're something, man. Not a fan of ship spirits borne into girls concept. Whoever of this world thought it'd be a good thing, I'll have to question their, uh, divinity... ] [ Honestly I don't know what the hell the redhead was thinking when he said that I'd be on this job. ... How is she doing? ] [ She? Oh, yeah. Fine I guess... and loud as usual. And just as loud when she knew you were thrown here. She won't be able to find her way here unless that guy wills it, though. ] [ Good. I don't want any more chaos to ensue especially if she's around. The shipgirls themselves are a handful for me over here, you know. ] The shipgirls are trying to comprehend the exchange, however it is not of a language they can easily understand. Choukai however perks up as she hears it. Choukai: (whispering to the rest) "This is... I think I am familiar with this language, but from Admiral's speech, it's not of a dialect I can understand... he is using a language pattern different from what we've learnt from the intelligence back in the war. Probably it has considerably changed over the years..." Nagato: "You recognize the language they were speaking?" Choukai: "A bit. I'm not really updated with Admiral's modern-day use of the language, so I can only make up a bit of it... seems the person the Admiral is talking to is a colleague from the outside." Fubuki: "A colleague from the outside!? Now that's a first to hear from the Commander, I guess?" Yamato: "What bothers me is how is the other person here, unless if they knew it from the Admiral himself." Graf Zeppelin: "Is the other person suspicious?" Choukai: "I don't think so... but then I guess it's best if we find out by ourselves on that." Kashima: "... So much for keeping this location classified I guess..." (sighs) The group then advances towards the Admiral's quarters. Kashima: "Excuse us for the intrusion. Kashima from the Hashirajima Naval Anchorage, leading the visiting party for Admiral Hitoshi Tadano. ... Um, Admiral?" Admiral: "Ah, so Ooyodo picked you lot, huh. Yeah, some introductions will have to be in order. ... Kashima, you don't need to stick to the formalities." Kashima: "I'm sorry! I'm just so used to it I kind of..." Admiral: "Fine, fine. Well, who do we have here..." (examines the party Kashima brought with her) "... Phew. I'll have to thank Ooyodo for this line-up." Yamato: "We're sorry to intrude, however, I believe we haven't known each other yet..." (looks at the other man in the room, next to the Admiral's bed.) ????: "Who? ... Oh, me? Oh. Okay. Hello there. Just call me 'Strike'. Naw, it's not my real name. It's the name I use when I'm in operations, but it sounds kinda cool so hell why not." Kashima: "Uh... I'm still wondering how you got here despite the information to this place isn't really an open information..." Strike: "Your Admiral told me. If you have to wonder what I do around here, I'm a special forces detachment assigned to your base, and your Admiral here is my good friend." The shipgirls look at each other. Nagato: "We had a detachment assigned to the base...?" Strike: "Nothing big really. I've always been there, but when I'm in uniform you'll see me as part of the crowd in our base so you won't even notice if I was even there in the first place." Admiral: "Did that sate your curiosity yet, ladies?" Still unsure on what to make of this new piece of information that is the other man before them, all of them give a slow nod in response. -- 'Enter the Admiral's Comrade' Strike: "So you see, the two of us were a team before he (pointing at the Admiral) was assigned here as your Admiral. We usually operate as a pair, but if needed we can operate independently. Sometimes we just had to do so in order to avoid getting foiled by the enemy. Our missions are just like that, the old man - our commander - is just plain insanity given form though." Kiso: "I see. ... Just wondering, Mr. Strike, if you can tell us something - like how the Admiral usually is when he is outside the Naval Base?" Strike: "Outside the base...? Oh, you mean when he's not taking care of you lot? Well, first things first... (turns to the Admiral) Dude, first of all I guess it's time to drop that formal talk." Admiral: "Gah... I don't really want to do that with these girls around, you know." Kiso: "Dropping that formal talk...? You mean that stiff, cold way of talking isn't really how he speaks?" Admiral: "I believe in keeping distances. While I don't really like keeping it strictly formal as I know most of you couldn't handle someone going for the "consummate professional" attitude, I also know that in armies camaraderie between fellow squad members is important to keep morale up. Though you lot are anything but soldiers." Strike: "Having that said, though, his normal speech isn't that different than what he used with you guys. He's just more aggressive in it, that's all. And more casual." Admiral: "There's nothing much to talk about when the one thing that stands between your eyesight and the other party on the other hand is a crosshair." Kiso: "Crosshair...?" Admiral: "The jobs I've been doing before I became your Admiral." Yamato: "Um... pardon me for butting in, but... just what kind of jobs did you do...? What did you mean by a crosshair between you and the other party?" Admiral: "Well, the same case goes to Strike. Most of the time we just stare down whatever's behind the crosshairs... and nothing much. With our two-man team, we're just a recon team anyway." Kiso: "Admiral... based on what happened during November 11... that precision firing from a concealed position... you were a sniper?" Admiral: "Uh huh. Not that it's much of a secret anyway. The submarines have known this all the time, and you have seen what I can do with that peashooter anyways." Kiso: "A peashooter, you say!? Are they peas from Hell or something!? It was painful to be hit by one, you know! ... Ehem. Sorry." Strike: "... If he felt like it you guys would've been no more right then, you know? Despite you being... ship girls and all." (beat) Admiral: "Ha ha. Funny joke, buddy." Strike: "Oopsie. My bad. Yeah, not a very good joke to crack against the ladies." Fubuki: "... Commander... forgive me for asking this, but... have you ever taken a life before...?" Fubuki's sudden question raised more silence from the two. Admiral: "If I have to say... countless... of cockroaches and mosquitoes? ... Ha ha." Strike: "That was lame, but eh. Not like I did a good one either. Well, we're mostly hired guns, so make of that what you will." Fubuki: "So I take it that you have, then..." Admiral: "More or less. All right, time for a confession, everyone - two of my few favorite phrases are 'finish off' and 'assassination.' ... You know what, let's just drop this topic, shall we? Besides this is not a topic that makes for a comfortable day to be sick in bed. Besides, Kashima over there seems like she's about to faint from these life and death talks. So let's be fair here: I and my team mate, Strike over here, are mercenaries trained to take lives when the situation calls for it. You lot are warships of the past who somehow became humanized, and yet what didn't scale down with your human form was your raw firepower of your original ship bodies. Sure, your weaponry might be scaled down... but even you, Fubuki, can punch holes through tanks if you felt like it. But that makes it more important for us to know the value of lives we protect while paying our tributes to the fallen ones - be it by our own hands or our own comrades in theirs. The End. ... That was... lengthy. (shouts out to Graf who's preparing stuff in the pantry) Graf, how is it going back there?" Graf Zeppelin: "Almost done, Admiral. I will have a bowl for you in a few moments." The silence in the Admiral's room continues as everyone tries let the gloomy mood caused by the conversation die down before moving on to a new topic. -- 'The Question.' Strike: "That was kinda unnecessary, don't you think?" Admiral: "What was?" Strike: "That long-winded speech. That old man's gonna tell you to cut it short and just pluck the last sentence out of it, y'know." Admiral: "Pep talks. We're talking down to ship spirits who're mentally teenage girls and young ladies on the inside, y'know." Strike: "That was pretty unmotivating for a pep talk." Yamato: "Um, pardon me..." (both Strike and Admiral, turning towards her): "Yes?" Yamato: "Now that we're away from the chaos of the naval base when it comes to topics regarding you, Admiral, I've been meaning to ask this question for a while..." (A moment of silence before she continues) Yamato: "Admiral, you wouldn't happen to possess the ring already, would you...?" (Yet another beat of silence.) Admiral: "The ring...? What do you mean by that?" Strike: "Ring?" Yamato: "Still playing dumb, I see. I expected that much of a response from you." Kiso: "If you thought I wouldn't have suspected a thing on that day you thought wrong." Admiral: "... And how do you prove I have such a thing?" Kiso (reaching into her pockets): "Here. Surely do you know what is in this box?" Admiral: "Humor me." Kiso: "... Sigh. You're still pretending, aren't you?" The Admiral pauses for a bit, before lifting both of his hands up. Admiral: "Okay, I give. But how did you find my black box? I thought I kept it well-hidden enough you won't be able to even know where it is without some special help." Yamato: "Which we did, Admiral." Admiral: "And that would be from?" Kiso: "Akashi and Ooyodo. Ooyodo was reluctant, but Akashi was eager." Admiral: "... All right. So much for keeping it a secret then. Who else knows this?" Kiso: "Apart from us over here and these two back in the base, no one else." Kashima (interjecting): "Really, Admiral-''san''! Personally I would've liked it if we could discuss this... but knowing how... um, passionate some of us were about you, I don't think you'd consider doing that either..." Admiral: "Right you are. I foresaw that much. Right now I'm still glad it's you guys who knew about the ring. And Kiso. Had it been the rest... I don't want November 11 happening on a bigger scale. If that happens and you start sinking each other for that I'll make sure that becomes extra steel for our supplies." Graf Zeppelin: "To think such a ring can potentially cause that much chaos... speaking of which, Admiral... d-do you ever have plans... for it?" Admiral: "What, you want it too?" (Everyone present stares blankly at Graf Zeppelin.) Graf Zeppelin: "What? Er, no! No! I-I mean... I would appreciate it... but..." Admiral: "See, this is why I'm conflicted over the ring myself. But what we have is just but one ring. This ring... is no ordinary ring. According to the Headquarters, this ring has the power to 'unlock the true potentials of its bearer'. To be honest, why would they model the ringing process to the one shipgirls who accepts this akin to a marriage ceremony is beyond me." (Hearing Admiral's comment, the girls perked up in reaction towards his words.) Yamato: "Admiral, saying it like that... even if it was 'provisional', was the idea of marriage with one of us... something you dislike?" Admiral: "Yes and no. I am not really against the concept of marriage itself, don't get me wrong. But I am not really fond of signifying our bonds in such a way, especially not with an artifact where I can only find one of it and never again... unless if I specifically ask the Headquarters for favors. While the ceremony and the ring itself might have sentimental and emotional value to you once you put it on, I am against limiting the ring to just one of you." (The girls' eyes widened in shock.) Kashima: "Admiral-''san''... did you plan to actually... ring all of us, including us here!?" Admiral: "Why not? You're all my important subordinates. ... And. Ah, well." Strike: "Ring you all, he says. (snicker) Well, ain't that nice for you girls, your Admiral is a very impartial fool who loves everyone like he loves someone. Applies to the ladies anyway. He just cannot say no to you all." Admiral: "... Shut it. This is embarrassing damn it." Strike: "You're lucky that old man isn't around, y'know. Otherwise he'll be cackling like the maniac he is. And hey, that girl will go all volcano over this, you know. You just can't say no to them like how you can't really say no to her. ... dude, you manwhore. (snicker) " Admiral: "Seriously, dude. Cut that out, I don't really have the energy to return that banter." Strike: (still chuckling) "Heh heh... sorry. My bad." Kiso: "... Who're these 'old man' and 'that girl' you two speak of?" Strike: "Oh, them? That 'old man' refers to our big boss when we were mercenaries. 'That girl'... well..." Admiral: "Well, part of our little clique and still is now. She's in some other faraway place, though. Old man's assignment. Loud, excitable, does not get the concept of personal space, and has some... fiery strength to match." (Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing. It's Kashima's.) Kashima: "Hello... ah! Ooyodo-''san''! Yes, we're still here... Meeting with headquarters? Admiral's representative? Ah... okay! Understood!" (She disengages the call.) Kashima: "Um... Admiral-''san''... looks like there is a call for a meeting..." Admiral: "Meeting...? Ah yes. Next month's operation matters, was it? I had that checked in the schedule... All right. I guess you guys better go back and prepare while I recover." Kashima: "Understood." (After exchanging some farewells and get better wishes, the girls depart from the Admiral's house.) Kashima: (So that's how Admiral-''san feels about the entire debacle...)'' Kiso: (I guess if there was to be a fight, it would be a matter of who gets it first.) Nagato: (Getting the ring from Admiral... not that I would not appreciate it... but it sure is getting me all excited.) Fubuki: (W-what should I do!? Surely Commander feels the same way towards everyone... but how am I going to respond if he finally comes to me...?) Yamato: (So it's now clear what his thoughts are regarding the matter. All right, I'll just continue doing as I've done before. ... My route will be pretty slow, isn't it?) Choukai: (Well at the very least, Maya will still get her chances with him. ... Wait, the same goes for all of us, too. ... How do we even divide him among 90+ people?) Graf Zeppelin: (... Well. Looks like I've landed myself in the care of a wonderful commander. I feel like I can truly prove my worth and my pride as an aircraft carrier now.) (Back at the house...) Strike: "Way to go, harem king. That's why the girls go to you like iron towards magnets. You just cannot deny them, can you?" Admiral: "I tried, and have been trying." Strike: "Well, rest up, dude. You have an operation in a month, and I got my post to return to. See you whenever, buddy." Admiral: "Send my greetings to the other guys please." Strike: "Will do." -- A/N: Wow, so much for a writer's block. That lasted me for a full month since the last time I started writing this entry. Time to focus on ideas for the Winter 2016 event next. Category:Blog posts